Published on May 4, 1999
After I discovered Tool while in college radio, I found myself
in a state of great anticipation.
Opiate, the band’s birth-cry, was an incredible collection
of songs, but it was only an EP. Imagine, I thought, what these
guys could do on a full-length album!
I don’t remember what I was doing when I found out that Tool had
finally come through and released their first full-length album
Undertow, but I do seem to recall I found out about it while
reading the
Illinois Entertainer (a free music newspaper distributed
here in the Chicago area). Completely stoked by the news, I ran out
and bought a copy.
Unfortunately, Maynard James Keenan and crew hit a brick wall
when it came to delivering the goods on a constant basis. While
there are some great numbers on
Undertow that I still slam my head into the drywall to on a
regular basis, the bulk of the album is a bit listless, almost as
if Tool was trying to achieve something grandiose in one fell
swoop. Unfortunately for them, they missed.
The high points of
Undertow come right at the start of the album. “Intolerance”
is a killer shuffle with a challenging rhythm pattern that reminds
me a lot of the way
Opiate started (with the song “Sweat”). It’s an interesting
comparison to make, and it’s not a disappointment in the least.
Following that are the two songs this album will forever be
known for: “Prison Sex” (I’ve only seen clips of the video, but
it’s a stitch) and “Sober”. “Sober” is the kind of song that will
have you gasping for air at the end; it’s a powerful trip into the
mind of Keenan and crew, and is one that should not be missed for
anything. If I had to pick one song that was my favorite of Tool’s,
this would be at the top of the list, or at least damn near the
top.
Things slip a little bit with “Bottom,” though the spoken-word
rendition from Henry Rollins does add to the mood (as well as bring
the two alternative gods closer together). Unfortunately, this is
where the words of praise for
Undertow stop.
The remainder of the album seems to wallow in confusion, almost
as if Tool didn’t know what to do with all the remaining free space
they had on their album. Cuts like “Swamp Song” grate on my
eardrums (even though I can draw another parallel to a similar song
on
Opiate, “Part Of Me”), while the entire second half of the
album, including “Flood,” “Undertow” and the monstrous
“Disgustipated” sink quickly.
What happened? I think that Tool’s creative juices simply dried
up; their next album
Aenima would be a few years in the making, and was a marked
improvement. It’s almost like they raced to get this album
completed, quality be damned. Sorry, gang, but quality is more
important than quantity. I could have even lived with this album
being another EP (cutting off after “Swamp Song”), and waited even
longer for something of substance.
Undertow is still a mandatory own for the killer songs – but
once the inevitable “greatest hits” comes out, I don’t think there
will be a convincing reason for someone to add this to their
collection.